Buffing device for railway-cars.



No. 663,273. Patented Dec.4,'l900.

J. A. HINSON.

BUFFING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS.

' (Application filed Feb. 6, 1900.) (No Model. 2 Shuts-Sheet I.

v INVENTOR T -E Noam PETERS co, FHOTO-LITNQ. WASHINGTON, D c.

No. 663,273. Patented Dec. 4, I900. J. A. HINSON. BUFFING DEVICE FORRAILWAY CABS.

(Application filed Feb. 6, 1900.)

2 SheetsSheet 2,

(No Model.)

k wi";

III II" mnr WITNESSES 77%. 971

I2 INVENTOR f UNTTED STATES PATENT @EETCE.

JAMES A. HINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BUFFING DEVlCE FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,273, dated December4, 1900.

Application filed February 6, 1900. Serial No. 4,2 (No model.)

To all whom, it puny concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES A. HINSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, havein vented certain new and useful Improvements in Buffing Devicesfor-Railroad- Cars; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to butfing devices for railroad-cars, and has forits object to provide a simple device of few parts adapted to maintainthe buffer-plates of adjacent cars in contact throughout their lengthsat all times, both in buffing and pulling, and particularly in roundingcurves, and to take up lost motion between the cars; and it consists ofthe parts and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a plan view of a platform-frame and draft and longitudinalsills of a car, having the flooring broken away to show my invention inposition; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section on line X X, Fig. 1;Fig. 3, a front elevation of the platform with the buiferplate removedand the metal face-plate partly broken; Fig. 4, a transverse verticalsection on line Y Y, Fig. 2; and Fig. 5, adetail perspective of thebuffer-plate.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout all the views.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a car-platform, and B abuffer-plate arranged across the end of the platform and in line withend sill C of the car, and D a horizontal top plate secured to andresting on a flange a, formed on the plate B and abutting against avertical projection or flange 1), formed by rabbeting the edge of saidplate B. This construction serves to strengthen the bu ffer-plate andprevent its bending from the blows received in buffing,especially whenit is brought in contact with narrow buffer-heads, such as the typeknown as the Miller buffer-head. The plate D extends into a recess orspace formed in the upper surface of the end timber F of thecar-platform and works belowa foot-plate E, secured to said end timber.The buffer-plate B is further strengthened by a or keys t.

rearwardly-projecting fiat rib 0, formed thereon at right angles andadapted to enter a narrow elongated slot 01, formed in the front face ofthe end timber F of the platform when the buffer-plate is driven back inbuffing. The rib c, as best shown in Fig. 5, is widest at its middleportion and gradually reduces toward its ends, where perforated lugs eare formed for the attachment of the guiderods G to the buffer-plate.The guide-rods are preferably forked at their ends to embrace the lugs eand are pivotally secured thereto by countersunk rivets, whereby saidbuffer-plate may have a free yielding movement in a horizontal plane ateach end. Across the face of the end timber F is secured, preferably byscrews, a metal plate H, in which is formed an elongated openingf,corresponding to the slot cl in the end timber F, and terminating insquare openings gat each end of said opening).

Through openings g andopenings in the end timber F the guide-rodsGextendback to and through openings in the ends of the arms 72, h of the yokeI, where they are secured by pins The rear portions of the rods G arereduced and rounded, so as to provide a shoulderj, against which or aloose collar is thereon one end of the spiral springs K, which surroundsaid rods, abuts, the other end of the springs bearing against a collarZ, loosely arranged on the rods and formed with adiametrically-extending rib m, which fits in a recess or groove n,formed across the face of the ends of the arms h h of the yoke. The yokecomprises the arms h h, jointed or hinged together at their meeting endsby a pin 0, which also serves to connect a bar J to the yoke for apurpose to be described. The arms h h are flattened and curve from theirinner ends to their outer ends, as shown in Fig. 1,and are widened attheirinner ends both for the purpose of strengthening the same and toform the projecting jaws L, having the short bosses p formed on theiradjacent faces in advance of the pivotal point ofthe arms. The bossesserve to retain a spring M in position between the jaws.

As shown in Fig. 1, the arm h is formed circularly and perforated, as at0, to enter be tween the lugs or ears to of arm 72 and with shoulders toto engage the stops y on the arm and thus limit the movement of the armson the pin 0. The arms h 71, are formed on the curved lines shown, so asto present the convex bearing-surface 1 Fig. 1 and the concavebearing-surface 10 The yoke-arms extend through narrow elongatedopenings 1', formed in the draft-timbers N, and work on combined wearand stop plates P, secured by bolts in the said openings 7'. The platesP are turned up vertically at their rear ends, as at s, to bear againstthe end sill of the car and are formed with a raised rib t, curved tocorrespond to the curve of the arms h h, and with a rounded projectionto, which forms a fulcrum for the said arms when in action. The ribs 15extend from the ends 8 of the plates P to the projections u andlaterally from the latter.

The bar J is formed with a forked end, so as to embrace the jointed orhinged ends of the arms, and is secured thereto by the pin 0 and extendsback to the end of the draw-bar, to which it is bolted or otherwisefirmly secured.

The car-coupler proper may be of any desired type or form and isconnected in the usual or any desired manner with the follower-platesand draft-springs.

With the parts in the position shown in .Fig. 1 any pull or forwardmovement of the coupler draws the yoke I bodily forward against thepressure of the springs K owing to its connection therewith through therod J, so that in starting a train of cars the buffer-plates of adjacentcars are kept firmly together and in direct contact and closing thespace which would otherwise be left between them. \Vhen the cars arebrought together in bufiing, the buifer-plates are driven back and theside springsK compressed. The coupler being also driven back at the sametime causes the bar or rod J to draw back the center pivotal point ofthe yoke I, thus throwing the outer ends of the arms 71 h forward andcompressing the spring M and taking up lost motion and reducing themovement of the plate B. Owing to the fact that the movements of theyoke-arms are limited by the shoulders 20 on the arm h engaging the stop1 on arm 71/ the yoke will be bodily moved forward by the bar J when thecoupler is pulled forward, and that bufling on the coupler causes'thebar J to draw the inner jointed ends of the arms h h backward, whichcauses the outer ends of the said arms to be thrown forward, because oftheir bearing on the rounded projections to of the stop and wearingplates I, which act as fulcrums, thu s holding the buffer-plates incontact and preventing lost motion between the plates.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecu re by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a. buffing device for railroad-cars, a jointed yoke, jawsprojecting from one side of the joint of said yoke, a spring arrangedbetween said jaws, a buifing-plate connected to the free ends of saidyoke, a rod connecting the center of said yoke and the draw-bar of acoupler, means for throwing the free ends of the yoke forward when thecenter of the yoke is drawn back, and means for causing the yoke to movebodily forward when the center of the yoke is pulled forward.

2. In a bufiing device for railway-cars, a platform end sill having anelongated slot or opening therein, a plate having a correspondingopening terminating in enlarged openings at each'end secu red to saidend sill, a bufferplate having a rib adapted to enter the elongatedopening in the sill, a yoke, and guiderods connecting said yoke andbuifer-plate.

3. In a bufling device for railway-cars, a yoke comprising two armshinged together at one end, one of said arms being formed with shouldersand the other with a stop to engage said shoulders to limit the movementof the arms, jaws projecting from said arms, a spring between said jaws,a bufier plate, means for connecting said yoke and bufierplate, and abar connecting the hinged ends of said arms to the draw-bar of acoupler.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. I-IINSON.

Witnesses:

W. D. HURFORD, F. M. WAUGH.

